US adds 7 Iranian UAV production firms to trade blacklist
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The US Commerce Department announces that seven Iranian entities have been added to the trade blacklist for allegedly supplying Russia with drones that have been used in the war in Ukraine.
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Iranian-made UAVs in an underground base at an undisclosed location in Iran on May 28, 2022 (AFP)
The US Department of Commerce announced, in a posting, that seven Iranian entities were added, on Tuesday, to the US trade blacklist for the alleged production of drones that were sold to Russia and used in the war on Ukraine.
The new US decision sought to curb exports to the seven Iranian firms which are: Design and Manufacturing of Aircraft Engines, Islamic Revolution Guard Corps Aerospace Force, Islamic Revolution Guard Corps Research and Self-Sufficiency Jihad Organization, Oje Parvaz Mado Nafar Company, Paravar Pars Company, Qods Aviation Industry, and Shahed Aviation Industries.
The US Commerce Department posting claimed that the Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that were produced have been transferred to Russia for use in the war in Ukraine, which both Iran and Russia repeatedly denied.
Other recent sanctions on Iran
Under the same pretext, the US Treasury Department, earlier in January 2023, imposed sanctions on six executives and board members of Qods Aviation Industries (QAI).
The Treasury Department claimed that Qods Aviation Industries, which has been under US sanctions since 2013, is a key Iranian defense manufacturer responsible for the design and production of drones.
"We will continue to use every tool at our disposal to deny Putin the weapons that he is using to wage his barbaric and unprovoked war on Ukraine," stressed US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in the statement.
In addition, the US Treasury also included the director of Iran's Aerospace Industries Organization, which according to the department, is responsible for overseeing Iran's ballistic missile programs, under the sanctions.
In accordance with the imposed sanctions, the Treasury Department freezes any US assets of those designated and bars US citizens from dealing with them. In addition, those who engage in certain transactions with them also risk being hit with sanctions.
Read more: Sanctions, blockade insufficient against Iran UAVs: National Interest
